Why is Cloud storage important in Laravel applications, and what problem does it solve for developers?

Why is Cloud storage important in Laravel applications, and what problem does it solve for developers? The key reason to understand cloud storage is that Laravel applications are usually composed of several layers that must work together predictably. The same storage API can keep application logic relatively stable while deployment moves files from local disks to cloud storage. Ignoring that boundary can lead to duplicated logic, poor security, unnecessary database work, or code that is difficult to test. Why it matters in practice: Laravel's filesystem abstraction provides a consistent API for local and cloud-backed storage disks. The specific focus here is cloud storage: The same storage API can keep application logic relatively stable while deployment moves files from local disks to cloud storage. This question is designed to test not only terminology, but also how the concept fits into Laravel's request, application, database, security, or deployment workflow.